Gadames

Gadames, or more accurately GHADAMES (the Cydamus of the Romans), is the name of an oasis and town of Africa, situated on the northern border of the Sahara, in 30° 9' N. lat. and 9° 17' E. long. The entire oasis is surrounded by a wall, which protects it from the sands of the desert. The streets are narrow and dark, being covered in to shield them from the sun's rays. The gardens of Gadames, which grow dates, figs, and apricots, owe their fertility to a hot spring (89° F.), from which the town had its origin. The climate is dry and healthy, though very hot in summer. The town is an entrepôt for manufactures and foreign goods from Tripoli to the interior, and for ivory, beeswax, hides, ostrich-feathers, gold, &c., from the interior to Tripoli. The slave-trade is now completely abolished. Pop. between 7000 and 10,000, mostly of Berber descent, and in religion devoted Mohammedans.